Pianissimo device.



. H. O. CLARK. PIANISSIMO DEVICE.

PATENTED JULY 30, 1907.

' -A1PPLIOATION FILED NOV.26. 1906.

r-i WITNESSES.

a N ENTOR.

A TTOR/VEYS HORACE O. CLARK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PIANISSIMO DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 30, 1907.

Application filed November 26, 1906. Serial No. 345,130.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Hermon O. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Pianissimo Device, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to piano actions, and has for its principal object to provide an improved form of action in which the lost motion between the jack and the hammer butt will be automatically taken up when the hammer rest rail is moved by depression of the pianissimo pedal.

A further object of the invention is to provide an action in which the number of centers and working parts is reduced in order to lessen the initial cost of construction and the friction during operation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a very simple connecting means between the abstracts and the bar or red by which they are adjusted, with a View of permitting ready connection and disconnection of any abstract from the bar without disturbing the others, and further, to prevent any friction between the abstracts and the adjusting bar or connections, and to prevent the possibility of any independent lateral movement of either the abstracts or the wippens.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafter appear, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a piano action arranged and constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of a portion of a hammer rail, a wippen and abstract, showing the connections between them. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view transversely of the wippen and the head of the abstract, showing the pin and groove connection for preventing independent lateral movement of either member. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail sectional views of a portion of an abstract showing a slight modification in the manner of attaching the adjusting rail or bar.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The drawings illustrate a hammer A, a hammer rest rail 13, a jack 0, and a key D, all of which may be of the ordinary construction, and provision is made for connecting the hammer rest rail to the pianissimo pedal in the usual manner, so that when the pedal is depressed the hammer rest rail will be swung upward and rearward for the purpose of shortening the hammer stroke.

The abstracts rest on the usual adjustable screws at the rear ends of the key levers, and the upper end of each abstract is arranged to bear against the lower face of the wippen 11, the wippen being pivoted near its rear end to a flange on the hammer rail E and carrying the jack O, as usual.

The abstract is provided with a vertically disposed slot 12 for the reception of a headed screw 13. In the present instance the screw is shown as provided with an eye at its outer end, so that by turning the eye parallel to the length of the slot 12, the abstract may be readily detached, if necessary, and the parts may be very readily placed in position or removed during the construction or any necessary repairs to the instrument. When the eye is turned at a right angle to the length of the slot, the abstract will be held in position. This screw or stud 13 projects from an adjustable bar or rail 14 extending the full width of the piano, and provided with a cushioning pad 15 of felt or similar material for engagement with the rear faces of the abstracts, and the end of each stud 13 may be provided with the eye as described, or with any other form of flattened head which when turned parallel with the slot will permit the removal of the abstract, or when turned at a right angle to the length of the slot will hold the abstract in place 1 The upper end of the abstract is curved, and is preferably provided with a cushion 16 for engagement with the forwardly and downwardly curved arm 17 of the wippen, the lower face of this arm being preferably leaded in order to permit free sliding movement of the abstract during its adjustment as dictated by the pianissimo pedal.

The bar 14 which extends the full width of the piano action is connected at its ends to the lower arms 20 of bell crank levers which are pivoted on studs 21 projecting from the hammer rail, and the horizontal arms 22 of said levers have threaded rear ends adapted to threaded openings in the vertical arms in order to permit adjustment. The outer or front ends of the arms 22 are provided with openings 23 into any one of which the lower ends of rods 24 may be inserted. These rods, of which .there are two or more, are provided with threaded upper ends which pass through openings in lugs 25 projecting from the hammer rest rail, and carry nuts 26 to permit adjustment.

In order to avoid frictional contact between the the wippen.

screw 13 and the side walls of the slot 12 of each abstract, the head of the latter is provided with a pin which enters a slot 26 formed in the curved arm 17 of The frictional contact of the pin with the side walls of the slot is not important, for the reason that there is no friction during the operation of the action, except when the pianissimo pedal is depressed. This pin and slot connection holds the screw from contact with the side walls of the slot 12, and at the same time prevents the possibility of accidental lateral play of either the wippen or the abstract.

In operation, the depression of the pianissimo pedal will operate through the ordinary mechanism to move the hammer rest rail B upward and rearward, and this movement will be transmitted through the rods 24 to the arms 22 of the bell crank levers. The arms 20 of said bell crank levers will be moved outward, or toward the front of the instrument, and the arm or rail 14 will force all of the abstracts out, the upper ends of the abstracts remaining in engagement with the curved arms 17 of the wippens and exercising a cam like action thereon, so that the wippens will be raised, and the jacks will be elevated to an extent sufficient to maintain their upper ends in engagement with the hammer butts, the parts being so proportioned that the relation of the jacks to the hammer butts will be precisely the same whether the pianissimo pedal is depressed or not.

In the construction shown in Fig. 4, the adjusting bar or rail 14 is arranged at a point in advance of the abstracts and pulls, instead of pushes, the latter outward.

In the construction shown in Fig. 5, the bar 14 is provided with slots 30 for the reception of the abstracts, the bar in this case being approximately rectangular in form.

It will be observed that in all cases the number of parts is reduced to a minimum, and there are fewer centers than in ordinary actions, the addition of pivotal centers being objectionable both on account of the original cost and the unnecessary additional friction of the action when in use.

It will be noted that the upper end of the abstract is rounded, so that during its operation on the wippen there will be comparatively small friction and there will be little or no extra pressure exerted on the pianissimo pedal in the adjustment of the parts.

I claim 1. In a piano action, a hammer rest rail, wippens having downwardly bent ends, abstracts on which the wippens rest, each abstract having a vertical slot, a cross bar, studs carried thereby and passing freely through the slots, adjustable bell crank levers carrying the cross bar, and adjustable connections between the bell crank levers and the hammer rest rail.

2. In a piano action, a hammer rest rail, wippens having downwardly curved forward ends, abstracts on which the curved ends of the wippens rest, each abstract having a vertically elongated slot, a headed stud passing freely through each slot, a cross bar carrying all of the studs, pivotally mounted bell crank levers, the vertical arms of which are connected to the cross bar, the horizontal arms of said levers being adjustably connected to the vertical arms, and rods forming adjustable connections between the horizontal arms of the bell crank levers and the hammer rest rail.

3. In a piano action, a hammer rest rail, wippens hav ing downwardly bent ends, abstracts on which the wip pens rest, means for moving the upper ends of the abstracts forward when the hammer rest rail is moved rearward by the depression of the pianissimo pedal, there being a slotted connection between the abstract and the wippen to prevent independent lateral play of either memher.

4. In a piano action, a hammer rest rail, wippens having downwardly bent ends, abstracts on which the wippens rest, each abstract having a vertical slot, a cross bar connected to the hammer rest rail, studs or pins carried by the cross bar and passing freely through the slots, and a guiding means between the abstract and wippen to pre vent contact between the side walls of the slot and the pin or stud.

5. In a piano action, a hammer rest rail, an abstract, a wippen, an adjusting bar connected to the hammer rest rail, screws or studs extending from the bar and provided with narrow heads at one end, the abstracts having slots for the passage of said screws or studs, the lower face of each wippen having a longitudinal slot, and a pin extend ing from the head of the abstract and entering said slot, to thereby maintain the screw or stud from engagement with the walls of the vertical slot of the abstract.-

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto ailixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HORACE O. CLARK.

Witnesses:

F. E. illnnnrr'r, S. S. KIEFICR. 

